Monday, June 06, 2011

At least it wasn't Twinkle


Owen named her Sparkle. I tried to point him in another direction, any other direction, but he is adamant: She is Sparkle. And she is perfect.

The other night, I cooked Guy Fieri's lamb chops with mint pesto, my maiden voyage into Guy Fieri Food. They were excellent. I wish Guy didn't try so hard, what with the tats and the slang and the Phyllis Diller hair, because I think he has good ideas and sound recipes and all that shtick just makes him seem insecure. But I guess shtick is required these days to become a Food Network star.

It seems tasteless to post a photograph of lamb chops adjacent to a photograph of a baby goat, so I'll skip right to Fieri's chicken-under-a-brick, which I served last night.

To make this, you spatchcock a chicken and season it well, then heat oil in a skillet, splay the chicken out in the hot fat, and top with another skillet weighted down with four foil-wrapped bricks.


Roughly thirty minutes later, the chicken looks disturbing, but tastes wonderful. Serve with green sauce.
I know. 
Does anyone watch much food TV? Favorite shows? The other day, Owen and I watched Anne Thornton make s'mores bars on a program called Dessert First. It's sort of stunning that shows are devoted to recipes this remedial, but still, we watched. When it was over, Owen said, "Mom you HAVE to make those."

 I did.


And they were insanely good. One of those desserts -- buttery, a bit salty, crumbly, chocolatey but not overwhelmingly so, crunchy, gooey -- that you can not stop eating. You just want more, more, more. I have a problem with this kind of dessert as there's no built-in stopping point. Satisfaction is impossible. But I would be derelict in my blogging duty if I didn't tell you that the recipe is absolutely phenomenal. (I omitted the chipotle powder, as Thornton does on the show. Come to think of it, chipotle powder might make these easier to stop eating.)

18 comments:

  1. Food tv is one of my guilty pleasures. I love it. My current favorite is Nigella Lawson. They show reruns of old episodes of hers on Cooking Channel, but I only just discovered her. I haven't cooked any of her recipes yet, so can't vouch for how they taste.

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  2. I love the food channel. I watch it all the time. My favorite is Anne Burrell, who seems to be kissin cousins to Guy in the looks and personality department.

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  3. Oh Nigella, I love Nigella, but I haven't been able to find her!
    I know what you mean about Anne Burrell -- I saw her make this plum cornbread a while ago that I am going to try to replicate as soon as I see a plum.

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  4. There is another food channel, I think it is called the cooking channel and they run Nigella's show. The food network is more the new shows. If you find the cooking channel on your cable, look for Bitchin Kitchen, sooo funny!

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  5. All the stuffed animals and dolls in my house are named "Sparkle Pretty Sunshine," or some variant thereof. Your little Sparkle would fit right in.

    The recipe looks good; however, I can already tell that the processed graham cracker crumbs are going to end up all over the floor. Hence, this recipe goes into the "make only on Wednesdays"
    folder, which is the day before the cleaning lady comes.

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  6. They run the remedial shows for people like me. My mother died suddenly, and before I learned how to make her dishes. I honestly learned to cook from Rachael Ray (before she went HD), Sara Moulton, and Paula Deen. I needed them because even the indispensable Mark Bittman would sometimes say things like "trim the leeks" and I wasn't quite sure what that meant. Reading descriptions of mincing garlic wasn't nearly as useful as watching someone do it. And ten years ago, the internet hadn't devoted so much bandwidth to such things so I couldn't look there.
    So I love the old-school Food Network shows, including the original Iron Chef, because they were so useful to me. I like some of Giada's recipes, but not her show so much; and Nigella is the most fun to watch, I think, though I find her food hit or miss.
    Love Sparkle. So happy for you.

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  7. not on subject, but i read about your book in US Airways Magazine yesterday and I simply can't wait to read it.

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  8. Food Network is on all the time at our house. My son and I used to watch for hours when he was small. I'm not such a fan of the new shows they've been trotting out lately. I guess I just like the old standbys-Bobby, Tyler, Giada, Paula, Ina. I don't care for Guy Fieri's cooking show, but I will watch Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives for hours at a time. I've found myself even watching his game show thing on NBC. I really like Guy. :) Ann Burrell grates on every nerve I have. And I LOVE Good Eats!!! Alton Brown is a gas. The first cooking show I ever watched was The Frugal Gourmet on PBS. Jeff Smith taught me to make omelets.

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  9. What a precious goat! I love their little faces.

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  10. I've been stalking your blog for a couple years now - I also read the US Air article on the plane today and I was so excited! (your pic was great!)Can't wait to read your book!

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  11. Since Tipsy is too modest, here's a link: http://usairwaysmag.com/articles/make_the_bread_buy_the_butter/

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  12. Oooh, Azure, thanks for posting the article link. That was a fun read (not that I expected otherwise). I can't wait to get my hands on the book!

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  13. I found out about this blog via my interest in the eventual book mentioned in the US Airways magazine - all I can say is I can't wait for the book and the blog is awesome. keep it coming Tipsy Baker!!

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  14. Awesome that you were featured in US Airways magazine! I will pre-order your book.

    Love the baby goat. Can we get a shot that shows her relative size? I have a hard time believing they are as small as they are!

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  15. Update! Daughter just named new stuffed animal seal "Twinkle."

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  16. The chili doesn't diminish the addiction. Damn you, Tipsy - I didn't need to make a pan of these!

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